Farmhouse Cleaning Tips

Turn to our farmhouse cleaning tips to keep dust and dirt out with clever cleaning recipes and farmers’ know-how.

Everyone knows the feeling of walking into your home and just letting out a long sigh at the state of a messy house. There are dirty dishes in the sink, the table chairs are pulled out, splotches of who knows what on the counter, and the more you look around, the more you’re convinced a tornado hit your living room while you were gone.

As much as we’d all love to have a spotless house 24/7, it’s just not realistic. The task of cleaning is tedious and no fun by any means. Plus, if you know the challenges of motherhood, you know that there’s often no help when it comes to cleaning. It doesn’t have to be this way, though; while there are no perfected solutions, there are tips and tricks that you can use to maximize the cleanliness of your home.

Follow along as we share a farmhouse cleaning checklist and simple DIYs to answer all your cleaning questions!

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How can I clean my house daily? And how do I keep my house dust-free?

Days can get quite packed, running from here to there with no break in between. How are we supposed to keep up with a clean home when we can barely keep up with our schedules?

It may sound like a challenge at first but if you take the time to deep clean, then do “surface” cleaning daily, you’ll save yourself the trouble of needing to deep clean as often.

Here at the farm, we’ve gotten into the habit of doing a quick counter wipe down after dinner. You may be surprised at how big of an effect little efforts like that can have when it comes to the cleanliness of a home.

Keeping dust-free can also be tricky because there will always be dust. When things sit idly, they collect dust. (Thus, where we get the term “dust collector”) You can do nothing to prevent dust from ever collecting, but keeping a clean home and dusting regularly makes dust a lot less troublesome.

What comes first, dusting or vacuuming?

This is without a doubt one of the most highly debated questions in “cleaning history.” Both sides make valid arguments. Dust first, and all the dust will fall to the floor to be vacuumed. Vacuum first, and it will stir up more dust. Then you can get all the dust in one go instead of making more work for yourself.

Everyone has their own opinion, but here is my answer:

Dust is a naturally occurring element in the air, so logically a vacuum would indeed stir dust up and shift it to sit on furniture and objects. However, when it comes to dusting, it’s not just “pushed” onto the floor but rather “picked up” on a microfiber towel or dusting cloth. Vacuuming first will allow you to get over stirring up dust before then dusting, to which none should fall on the floor.

I will mention, though, that there really is no “wrong” answer. Do what makes sense to you and helps you flow through cleaning.

Farmhouse Cleaning Checklist

Are you feeling unmotivated? It can be hard to get inspired to clean anything, but our farmhouse cleaning checklist and DIYs have your back!

Entryway

Wipe down areas that get used a lot. (Door handles, key hooks, and light switches)
Make use of available storage or wall space for hangers
Make a designated place for shoes (this will help keep your floors clean and shoes in a tidy location)
Clear clutter regularly

Living room

Spot clean floors and glass surfaces (preventing spots from gathering into clusters makes deep cleanings less tedious)
Declutter (put toys back where they go, fold blankets, or take out anything that doesn’t belong in the living room)
Dust (doing so more regularly will help keep bugs and spiders away. This can easily be accomplished with a microfiber towel.)

Kitchen

Wipe out the sink after washing dishes. (takes a little extra work, but it keeps gunk from building up in your sink)
Clean up spills when they happen (they’re much harder to clean when dry)
Minimalize (If it needs to be kept out on the counter for frequent use, keep it there, if it doesn’t, put it elsewhere.)
Have set times/days for doing things (This will help the cleaning seem less taxing, and not everything needs to be cleaned every day)

Bedroom

Make the bed (An obvious, but it’s easy to push off for later, get it out of the way the first thing you can because that sense of accomplishment helps!)
Declutter! (It’s easy just to let dirty clothes lay on the floor, but if you work yourself into the habit of putting them in the laundry bin, the problem will disappear entirely)
Put away misplaced/left out items (this can be quite frequent, but a little work goes a long way!)
Put away any clean clothes (It’s too easy to continually shove this one off for later, but if you get into the habit of doing it, the task will be a lot less arduous)

Bathroom

Pick up all dirty clothes and throw them in the hamper
Clean up any trash
Do a quick sink wipe down (sinks get dirty fast in the bathroom! Reduce dried-up messes by doing a quick wipe down every day.)
Declutter (This is a must for every room in the house, as items can travel from room to room and end up in a spot they don’t belong)
Take advantage of counter space (Keep it as minimal as possible but organize to your liking)

Farmhouse Cleaning Tips You Didn’t Know You Needed

We’ve covered some how-to’s, tips, and tricks, but what about items to help keep our house clean while staying all-natural? Here’s a look at our all-time favorite cleaning tips and DIYs!

DIY Foaming Hand Soap

While soap bars are wonderful (and I enjoy making soap bars!), they can be a hassle from time to time and take up their fair share of space at the sink. We’ve got you if you’ve been looking for an all-natural DIY foaming hand soap to simplify handwashing!

How to Clean Mattress Stains and Deodorize

Follow our steps on how to clean mattress stains, deodorize, and refresh in under an hour so you can rest easy knowing your bed isn’t lurking with dust mites or worse.

It can be darn near impossible to get stains out of mattresses. I’m not kidding when I say mattresses can be a catch-all for a plethora of icky stains that no one wants to sleep on. Whether your spring cleaning or “specific” cleaning, with this all-natural mattress stain remover, say goodbye to the unknowns underneath the mattress pad.

Cinnamon and Spice Stove Top Potpourri Jars

How to make potpourri jars for gifts with homemade cinnamon dough, dried apples and more into a farmhouse stove top potpourri.

Whether you’ve made potpourris before or long to make one, you won’t want to miss this cinnamon and spice potpourri jar! Perfect for fall time or if you’re searching for a cozy scent to have to waft your house during a get-together!

DIY Lavender Sachets

When it comes to learning how to make lavender sachets, it all starts with harvesting and drying lavender. How do you dry lavender flowers? Use our tips to make drying lavender simple and enjoyable!

If you haven’t heard, we love lavender a LOT. Beautiful in color and a calm aroma, it’s an essential herb. These sachets are fantastic in every way. If you’re looking for a gift or something to keep your clothes smelling amazing, these DIY lavender sachets are an absolute must in my home.

Homemade Scouring Powder

Made with easy to find, inexpensive ingredients this lavender scouring powder brightens and lifts stains from our farmhouse sink with ease. It takes just a few short minutes to make and can be easily adapted for ingredients you already have on hand.

Whenever I have guests, one of the most frequent questions I get asked is how do I keep my sink so sparkly white. Everyone knows sinks can get messy quickly, and it can be a challenge to keep them clean. The answer is simple, though, this homemade scouring powder! It does take work, but it’s worth the sight of a clean white sink.

Farm Fresh Pine Candles

While they don’t directly clean the house, candles can go a long way to the feeling of a clean home. Although they seem daunting at first, these farm fresh pine candles are quite easy and worth the work! If you’ve never made candles before, read our quick start to candle making.

Related To: Farmhouse Pantry Label Ideas

How do you keep dirt from tracking into your house?

Single, married, or married with kids; everyone knows what it feels like when the sun hits the entry floor at just the right angle to display ALL of the dirt that’s been tracked into the house. (Yuck.) So you clean the floors, and it feels like there’s already dirt tracked in again, less than five minutes later. How do we solve this pesky problem?!

The number one contributor to dirt being tracked into the house is shoes walking in from outside. Try putting a welcome mat both outside and inside the front door. Those hard bristles are great for getting dirt and mud from between the grooves of shoes.

Next, try having a no-shoes policy. There are a couple of ways to go about this, but you can make a mat or a space for people to leave their shoes when they walk in, or you can make sure family and guests know to take off their shoes before walking any further in the house. If you have little ones, this rule will take a while to set in as a habit, but continually help them get used to doing it when they walk in, and it will eventually become habitual, even if they’re young.

Another helpful trick is making sure the door doesn’t stay unnecessarily open. Dirt can be tracked in from shoes just as easily as it can be blown in by wind and find its way into annoying nooks and crannies.

Keep dust and dirt out with our clever farmhouse cleaning tips, checklist, and simple DIYs.

And there you have it! Turn cleaning into an easy daily habit by applying our tips, tricks, and DIYs to your everyday life! It’s never too late to be able to enjoy the clarity a clean home brings into your life.

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Pin these farmhouse cleaning tips, DIYs, and cleaning checklist now! Tag #farmhousechicliving on Instagram to share your cleaning tips with us.

Cleaning Tips